Avoid kites, save birds: Activists

Mumbai: Animal activists as well as a few actors and artists have begun requesting

Mumbaikars

to not fly kites during Makar Sankranti on January 14 for the safety of birds. Hundreds of birds get killed every year during the kite-flying season, they said. Animal rights groups have decided to set up several bird rescue camps in the city during this period.“We are giving out the addresses and phone numbers of various bird rescue camps to be set up so that citizens can immediately rush the injured birds to the closest camp during Makar Sankranti. We are also requesting citizens to avoid flying kites, especially the ones with sharp glass-coated manja thread as it can fatally cut through the birds,” said Mitesh Jain, honorary district animal welfare officer. Actors

Sheen Das

, Gulki Joshi, Parul Chaudhary and Chitrapama Banerjee, among others, have requested people to “say no to kites” and join hands with Karuna Trust Virar in saving as many birds as possible. Actors Manoj Malhotra,

Rohan Rai

, Kuldip Malik and Jaya Bhattacharya have also sent out similar messages on social networks.NGOs such as Karuna Trust, Bird Helpline, BSPCA and several others will also be actively looking out to treat injured.